Clothes dryer with clothes odorizing means



Oct. 1, 1957 E. D. MOREY CLOTHES DRYER WITH CLOTHES ODORIZING MEANSFiled May 2, 1956 F'IG.2

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INVENTOR. EVERETT D. MOREY HIS ATTORNEY United States Pate Everett D.Morey, Louisville, Ky., assignor to Genera! Electric Company, acorporation of New York i I i Application May 2, 1956, Serial No.582,162

2 Claims. (Cl. 34--133) -Myin'vention relates to clothes dryers and morepariicularly'jto clothes dryers having a forced air circulation Zystemfor blowing a stream of heated air through the ,jclothes basket fordrying the clothes.

, .It is an object of my invention to provide a new and 7 improvedclothes dryer having means for introducing a treating vapor into the airstream passing through the clothes basket, thereby to impart a pleasantodor to the clothes being dried.

Another object of my invention is to provide a new and improveddispenser for odorizing vapors particularly suited for use in clothesdryers, which dispenser is adapted to be positioned in the dryer airstream and which is so arranged that the dryer air stream itselfvolatilizes the odorizing vapor from a pool of odorizing liquid withinthe dispenser and carries the vapor from the dispenser onto the clothes.

A further object of my invention is to provide a new and improvedarrangement for mounting a dispenser for odorizing vapors in a clothesdryer, in which arrangement the dispenser is mounted on the exterior ofthe dryer cabinet for ready removal and refilling but yet is effectiveto introduce the odorizing vapor into the air stream passing through theclothes basket.

Still a further object of my invention is to provide a new and improveddispenser for odorizing vapors particularly adapted for use in clothesdryers, which dispenser includes means for selectively varying theamount of odorizing vapor passed onto the clothes and which is soarranged that there is very little loss of odorizing material bydiffusion during the inoperative periods of the dryer.

In carrying out my invention in one form thereof, I provide a clothesdryer having suitable clothes tumbling means such as a rotating drum. Aheater is mounted within the dryer and a blower is arranged for blowinga stream of air over the heater and through the drum for drying theclothes being tumbled. By my invention a dispenser is provided in thedryer for introducing a treating or odorizing vapor into the air streampassing through the drum, thereby to impart a pleasant odor to theclothes being tumbled. The dispenser comprises a container for holdingodorizing or treating liquid, which is provided with an air inletopening and an air outlet opening. The dispenser is so arranged in thedryer air stream upstream of the drum that at least a portion of the airstream flows through the openings and the container. The air streamthereby volatilizes the odorizing vapor from the liquid in the containerand carries the vapor onto the clothes to give them a pleasing odor.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. My invention, however, both as to its organization andmethod of operation, together with further objects and advantagesthereof, may be best understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

2,807,893 Patented Oct. 1, 1957 Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of aclothes dryer embodying my invention in one form thereof, the view beingpartially broken away in order to show details;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom view of the odorizing vapor dispenser included in thedryer of Fig. 1, the View being partially broken away to show thefilling opening and the air inlet and outlet openings of the dispenser;and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary frontal view of the dispenser and theair inlet opening of the dryer.

Referring now to Fig. 1, I have shown therein a clothes dryer 1 whichincorporates my new and improved clothes odorizing means in onepreferred form thereof. The dryer 1 includes a rotatable drum or basket2 which is mounted for rotation around a generally horizontal axis. Thebasket 2 is disposed within an outer enclosing cabinet structure 3 andaligned openings 4 and 5 are provided respectively in the front walls ofthe basket and the cabinet structure for the loading and unloading ofthe clothes from the basket. The openings 4 and 5 are preferably flangedin order to prevent clothes from dropping down between the basket andthe cabinet. A door 6 hingedly mounted on the cabinet closes the opening5 during the operation of the machine.

The basket 2 is rotated during the operation of the dryer by means of anelectric motor (not shown) which is connected to the basket by anysuitable drive, as for example a belt drive. This drive is so arrangedthat the basket is driven at a suitable speed for tumbling articles ofclothing placed therein. The basket 2 preferably includes upstandingribs on the inner surface thereof to aid in producing the tumblingaction.v Besides driving the basket, the drive motor also serves todrive air moving means for circulating a stream of air through thebasket during the operation of the machine. The air moving meanscomprises a centrifugal blower 7 which is driven from the motor by meansof a direct coupling or other suitable drive. The blower 7 draws in airfrom the surrounding room through a conduit 8 which leads from ascreened air inlet opening 9 in the toeboard panel 10 of the cabinet.

The air drawn in by the blower 7 is discharged through an opening at thetop thereof into a duct 11 which is separated from the rotating basket 2by a bafl'le 12. As shown, the baflle 12 extends upwardly from the baseof the machine to a point in the general vicinity of an electric heatingelement 13 mounted adjacent the upper portion of the basket, the baflle12 being curved arcuately around the side wall of the basket for aportion of its length. The air discharged from the blower 7 flowsupwardly through the duct 11 and passes outwardly therefrom across theheating element 13. The heated air still under pressure from the blowerthen flows downwardly through the side wall of the basket, the side wallbeing perforated or foraminated for that purpose. The air moves throughthe basket and the articles of clothing being tumbled therein extractingmoisture from the clothes and next passes into a collecting chamberlying beneath the basket 2 on the opposite side of the bafile 12 fromthe duct 11. From the collecting chamber the air is discharged out ofthe cabinet into the surrounding room through an appropriate lint trapstructure 14 mounted in the toeboard 10.

By my invention the dryer 1 is provided with means whereby a pleasantodor is imparted to the clothes during the drying operation.Specifically, the dryer is provided with means whereby a treating orodorizing vapor is passed onto the clothes during the drying operation.In my preferred embodiment this odorizing vapor is carried onto theclothes by means ofthe main air stream through the dryer so that the airstream not only dries the clothes but also gives them a pleasant odor.

The odorizing vapor is introduced into the air stream by means of adispenser 15which is mounted on the dryer cabinet within the recessedkick space 16in front of the toeboard (Fig. 2). The dispenser comprisesa relatively flat elongated container including a mainbody porton 17 anda front wall or cap 18, and it is mounted within the kick space 16 bymeans of a generally U-shaped clip 19. The dispenser fits within and isheld by the clip 19, and the clip in turn is held by brackets 20attached to the dryer casing. The clip is provided with rearwardlyextending portions 19a at the ends of its vertical legs and theseextensions 19a fit within and are held by the brackets 20. Theengagement between the dispenser 15 and the clip 19 is, however, notsuch that the dispenser is fixedly mounted in place. Rather thedispenser may be readily withdrawn from the clip and replaced therein bythe operator of the machine. In the illustrated embodiment a side flange21 on the front wall or cap 18 of the dispenser engages the clipso asboth to hold the dispenser within the clip and prevent any tiltingthereof, but the engagement between the flange and the clip does notinterfere in any way with the removal of the dispenser.

When the dispenser is pushed back to the proper position wherein theflange 19 engages the clip, the dispenser is wholly within the kickspace 16, i. e., it lies wholly in back of the front panel 22 of thecabinet 3. The dispenser is thus out of the way where it will not beaccidentally bumped by the operator of the machine as she loads andunloads the clothes from the machine. However, it is still readilyaccessible for removal and replacement within the clip.

The dispenser 15 is positioned within the kick space 16 generally infront of the air inlet opening 9 through the toeboard 10. It is sopositioned in order to dispense the odorizing vapor into the air streamentering the dryer. The air stream then carries the odorizing vaporupward through the duct 11 and thence downwardly through the perforatedwall of the basket onto the clothes. The container 15 is so arrangedthat the action of the air stream itself removes the vapor from thedispenser without any additional means being required. For that purposethe dispenser is provided with a front air inlet opening 23 and a rearair outlet opening 24. Both the air inlet opening and the air outletopening are tubular in form. That is, they are not simply apertures inthe walls of the dispenser but rather are slightly tapered, tube-likeelements extending for a distance into the interior of the dispenser.The rear or air outlet opening 24 is formed in the main body portion 17of the dispenser and the front or air inlet opening 23 is formed in thefront wall or cap 18.

The air inlet and outlet openings 23 and 24 of the dispenser arepositioned generally in line with each other and are also in line withthe air inlet opening 9 to the dryer. The outlet opening 24 of thedispenser in fact lies closely adjacent the dryer inlet 9. As a result aportion of the air entering the opening 9 will first be drawn throughthe opening 23, then through the dispenser or container and out throughthe opening 24 before it enters the opening 9 to the dryer. This airpassing through the dispenser 15 flows over a pool 25 of odorizingliquid contained in the dispenser and volatilizes or evaporates aportion of the odorizing liquid into a vaporous form. It then carriesthis odorizing vapor inwardly to the opening 9, and from there it passesthrough the blower and the duct 11 into the tumbling drumand onto theclothes. In this manner a pleasing odor is imparted to the clothessimultaneously as they are dried. The tapered, tubular openings 23 and24 pass air freely through the dispenser or container so long as theblower is in operation. However, when the dryer is turned off so thatthe blower is inoperative, then the tubular openings act to preventdiffusion of the odorizing liquid out of the receptacle. This tubularform of the openings is much more effective than simple apertures inpreventing diffusion. Thus much less odorizing liquid is lost duringinoperative periods of the dryer than if simple aperture-like air inletand outlet openings were provided in the dispenser.

With regard to the type of odorizing liquid which may be used in thedispenser 15, it will be understood that any suitable volatile liquidmay, be used. It is preferred however to use a liquid which will give afresh outdoor odor to the clothes.

In order to control the amount of fragrance or odor imparted to theclothes, the dispenser 15 is provided with means for controlling theamount of odorizing vapor introduced into the inlet air stream enteringthe dryer.-

This control means comprises a fiat cover element 26 which is slidablymounted in a track 27 formed in the front element 18 of the dispenser.This cover 26 may;

be slid in the track 27 by the operator so as to close oft more or lessof the air inlet opening 23 of the dispenser,

It may be moved so as to completely close off the aiii inlet opening 23whereby no odorizing vapor will be; introduced into the air streamduring the operation of the dryer. Alternatively, it may be moved so asto partially cover the air inlet opening 23, such as is shown in Fig. 4,

or it may be moved so as to completely uncover the opening 23. The moreof the opening that is uncovered,

the more air is passed through the dispenser and the more treatingliquid is volatilized and introduced into the dryer air stream. Thus bythe use of the sliding cover the amount of odor added to the clothes maybe controlled at the selection of the operator.

In order to provide for refilling the dispenser 15 when the pool ofodorizing liquid therein is depleted or exhausted, a filling opening isformed in the rear wall of the body member 17 near the air outletopening 24. The filling opening is normally closed by a plug 28 so thatliquid is not lost through it during the operation of the dryer.However, when the dispenser is removed from the dryer, the plug 28 maybe taken out of the filling opening and the supply of odorizing liquidreplenished through the filling opening. It will be noted incidentallythat the air inlet and outlet openings 23 and 24 are disposed at boththe vertical and horizontal centers of the front and rear wallsrespectively. This allows the receptacle to be tipped on end when thedispenser is removed without any leakage through these openings. Also,the tubular form of the openings and their extension into the interiorof the dispenser allows the dispenser to be placed on its front wall 18or its rear wall without leakage. As a result no matter how thedispenser is tipped during filling, there will be no spillage unless itis overfilled.

From the above it will be seen that I have provided a new and improvedarrangement of a clothes dryer whereby a pleasing odor may be impartedto the clothes simultaneously as they are dried. In this arrangement theair stream flowing through the dryer, itself volatilizes a treating orodorizing vapor from a supply of odorizing liquid in a dispenser,whereby no additional vaporizing means are required. The dispenser isarranged on the exterior of the cabinet so that it is readily accessiblefor refilling, but yet is out of the way so that it will not beaccidentally bumped or damaged by the operator. Further, the air inletand outlet openings into the dispenser are themselves so arranged thatthey allow little loss of treating liquid by diliusion duringinoperative periods of the dryer, while nonetheless providing for asubstantial air flow through the dispenser during the operation of thedryer thereby to carry the treating vapor onto the clothes. Thedispenser also includes means whereby the amount of vapor introducedinto the dryer air stream may be varied at the selection of theoperation to obtain the desired odor of the clothes.

While in accordance with the patent statutes I have described what atpresent is considered to be the pre ferred embodiment of my invention itwill be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the invention,and, therefore, it is aimed in the appended claims to cover all suchchanges and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of myinvention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a clothes dryer, a clothes tumbling drum, a heater, a blower forblowing a stream of air over said heater and through said drum to drythe clothes therein, a cabinet enclosing said drum, said heater and saidblower and having a recessed kick space, an air inlet from said kickspace into said cabinet for said stream of air, and a dispenser forintroducing a treating vapor into said stream of air to impart apleasant odor to said clothes, said dispenser being mounted on saidcabinet in said kick space in the path of said stream of air as itenters said air inlet, and comprising a container for treating liquidhaving an air inlet opening and an air outlet opening, with saiddispenser being positioned so that at least a portion of said stream ofair flows through said openings and said container as it passes intosaid air inlet whereby said treating vapor is volatilized from saidliquid and carried onto said clothes.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said dispenser is removablymounted in said kick space, and includes a filling opening whereby saidcontainer may be refilled with liquid when the supply in said containerbecomes depleted, and a manually adjustable cover for one of saidopenings whereby the amount of air passing through said container may bevaried to control the amount of treating vapor carried to the clothes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS HallApr. 17,

